


Bringing in the New

by Rochelle_Templer



Category: All Creatures Great and Small (TV), All Creatures Great and Small - James Herriot
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, F/M, Slice of Life, seriously this is one of the fluffiest romantic fics I've ever written
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 02:56:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17133731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rochelle_Templer/pseuds/Rochelle_Templer
Summary: It's Christmas Eve at Skeldale House with Tristan trimming a tree and Diane getting into the spirit of things.





	Bringing in the New

**Author's Note:**

  * For [darrowby85](https://archiveofourown.org/users/darrowby85/gifts).



> This is a Christmas-themed "teaser" fic that introduces an original character I would like to include in a fic series I'm currently plotting which is an AU of the later seasons of ACGaS. 
> 
> It's also a gift fic for darrowby85 so I hope she and my readers will enjoy it.

“Tristan, when are you going to let me help you decorate that tree?”

Tristan smiled at her again. It was a relaxed and yet impish smile which was more than enough to enable Diane to predict the sort of response she was about to get.

“And what is the matter with the job I’m doing? Helen showed me several magazines of picture perfect Christmas trees and I believe mine can rival any of them. Even Siegfried should be suitably impressed this year.”

“It’s not a question of your decorating skill,” Diane replied with a playful smile of her own. “It’s that you won’t stop fussing over me.”

Tris paused, a pair of blue glass ornaments dangling from an index finger. He was doing his best “wounded pride” expression, and it took every bit of self control Diane had to stop herself from chuckling.

“But Diane…with your condition and all…you really shouldn’t be….”

“My condition? Tris, I’m expecting, not being afflicted with a debilitating illness,” Diane sighed. “I’m perfectly capable of placing some decorations onto a tree.”

As if to deliberately contradict what she had said, the baby chose that moment to start kicking again. Diane placed a hand onto her abdomen. There was no doubt in her mind that their child was going to make their days even livelier than they were now.

Unfortunately, Tristan immediately picked up on her discomfort, hastily putting the ornaments on his finger onto the tree and rushing over to her.

“Diane? Are you all right?” He placed one arm around her waist and held her arm with his other hand. “Do you need to sit down? I could get you a glass of water or something. Or do you need me to call someone?”

Diane raised a hand to stop him. “Tris, I’m fine. I just want to….” Another firm kick near her ribs inspired her to rethink how she wanted to finish that sentence. “…sit down for a moment.”

 Tristan nodded and guided over to the couch, sitting beside her after she had sank down onto the cushions. As she leaned back and closed her eyes, she felt a pair of arms circle around her from behind. She smiled and let him gently pull her closer to him so she could lean back against his chest.

“Does it hurt?”

The question was whispered, sincere, and, sadly, laced with deep concern. Thus, Diane was glad that she could be reassuring with him.

“Not so much. It’s just rather uncomfortable at times.” She opened her dark brown eyes and studied the tree in front of her. “The tree is lovely, Tris. Still, it could use a finishing touch. Maybe we could string some candy onto it.”

“Mmhmm,” Tristan mumbled, leaning his head forward so he could rest his cheek against her short, chestnut colored hair.

“And maybe we could do a quick garland of holly berries too,” she continued. “When I was a little girl, I had an aunt who always made holly berry garlands for her tree.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Or we could use popcorn. I think we still have some left in the kitchen.”

“Mmhmm.”

Diane frowned, but still had a spark of mischief in her eyes. “I thought about hanging some mistletoe, but I changed my mind. I shouldn’t give you any more excuses to be naughty so close to Christmas.”

A soft whine escaped Tristan’s lips, and Diane finally knew for sure that he was listening. Her lips creased into a smile as she tilted her head slightly, allowing Tris to lazily kiss her nape and then lightly press his face into the crook of her neck.

The contented sigh she heard from him made her smile even more. Tristan always found so much comfort in quiet moments like this. For a few seconds, her heart ached at the notion that he was so starved for this sort of tender attention before they met. It was soon swept away with her usual determination to make up for those years of doing without now that they were married.

Diane took a deep breath, finally feeling the baby settle down again while she continued to gaze at the tree. Skeldale House was unusually quiet tonight. The only sounds she heard were her husband’s breaths and the crackle of the fire. Candlelight flickered across the ornaments, creating rainbow flecks on each branch.

It truly was a beautiful tree. Much nicer than the flimsy wooden tree figurine she had made do with for so many years. Tristan had promised her that she would enjoy their first Christmas together, and so far, he was certainly fulfilling his promise.

Diane’s eyes began to drift back shut again as she snuggled against Tristan’s chest even more. But at the last possible second, they popped back open and she squinted. She had been so busy looking at the tree itself that she hadn’t paid hardly any attention to the gifts underneath it.

That is, until now when she realized that something wasn’t quite right.

“Tris?”

The arms around her tightened, but he didn’t lift his head. “Mmmm?”

“Why are there so many presents under the tree? Those aren’t all for me, are they?”

Tristan finally raised his head, chuckling. “Of course not. Well, some are. Those ones near the center. But no, those others are for Siegfried, Caroline, Tim, Edward and the baby.”

Diane blinked hard. “The baby?” She turned around in her seat so she could look him in the eye. “Tris, our baby isn’t due for another month. We don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl.”

Tristan grinned and kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry. I made sure to choose things a boy or a girl would like.”

“And how old will they need to be before they can actually enjoy these Christmas presents? Honestly, Tristan….”

As if on cue, the overly dramatic hurt look reappeared on her husband’s face. “Oh I know, Diane, but, well, I was practicing.”

“Practicing? Practicing what? Buying gifts?”

“Yes. Haven’t you heard that gift-giving is supposed to be an art form? Well, I want to be ready when the baby comes.”

Diane put a hand to her face so she could muffle her sigh. Tristan was going to spoil their child. If she wasn’t certain of that before, there was no escaping it now. She would have to be vigilant to make sure that didn’t happen.

Still, her exasperation was brief and Diane moved her hand away so she could watch his sheepish grin. Tristan was also sure to love their child with all his heart, and at that moment, that mattered far more to her. Besides, a little spoiling around Christmas time wasn’t such a horrible thing.

She laughed, unable to hold it back any longer, with Tristan joining in. Diane kissed him and placed an index finger onto his chin.

“You are incorrigible, Tristan Farnon. You know that, don’t you?”

Tris made a face. “Oh Diane, spare me. It was bad enough to hear that from Siegfried for all those years.

Diane laughed again at the exaggerated pout on his face and swiveled back on the couch so she was once again resting her back against his chest. Soon, she felt hands slowly travel up either side of her abdomen. Just as they were about to move onto the swell of her belly, Tristan hesitated, a questioning gesture.

Her smile grew again. Even when longing to caress his unborn child, Tristan waited for permission, his touches always reverent and always seeking consent.

Diane guided his hands so that he could feel the flutters of movement that were becoming slower and less frequent.

“Soon, dear. Soon it won’t just be the two of us anymore.”

“I know,” he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

However, a twinge of concern stirred inside her. A feeling she had had many times over these last few months.

“Tris…are you sure it’s all right? I mean, are you happy? I know this is happening sooner than we had planned, and I….”

Tristan rubbed his hand back and forth over her belly, putting a stop to her words. “Diane, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than I am now.”

Relieved once again, Diane turned slightly so she could snuggle up against him. If someone had told her five years ago that she would be married again and expecting her first child, she would have thought they were telling even more fanciful stories than the ones she was trying to write. Now, she couldn’t imagine her life turning out any other way. Nor would she want to even with the concerns and difficulties she still faced at times.

Diane closed her eyes again, letting Tristan hold her close and continue to stroke her abdomen and then her back and arms. She wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that because she was fairly certain she had fallen asleep at one point. A part of her knew they should get back to decorating the tree, but that easily lost out to the part of her that just wanted to let Tristan keep holding her like that.

Eventually, the silence was broken by the sound of the front door opening and the excited footsteps rushing toward the front room. She opened her eyes and turned just in time to see Siegfried standing next to the couch, beaming down at them.

“There you two are,” he said. “Well, come on, little brother, get a move on. Services will start in just a little while. We should get going.” He turned his gaze to Diane. “Oh my dear, let me help you.”

Siegfried held out his arm for her and continued to support Diane as she slowly got to her feet. At first, she was going to chide Siegfried for fussing over her too, but as she rose from the couch, she realized that his support was far more welcome than she had anticipated.

As soon as she was out of the way, Tim and Edward pounced onto Tristan. More accurately, Edward plopped down onto his uncle’s lap while Tim sat down next to him and held onto Tristan’s arm.

“It’s Christmas, it’s Christmas,” Edward chanting, bouncing on Tris’ leg. “When’s Father Christmas coming?”

Tristan chuckled and put his arms around Tim and Edward, drawing them close. “Don’t you know? He’s on his way now. He’s just waiting for all of us to go to church so that he can bring us all our presents. So the sooner we get going, the sooner it can happen.”

Tim nodded and gave Tristan a hug which prompted Tris to give both of them a quick squeeze before letting them go. Diane watched this with a grin on her face, her mind already dreaming how this would look with their own child. She felt a hand touch her arm and turned to see Caroline smiling at her, and Diane was certain that they were both thinking the same thing.

“Caroline, how about you take Diane and the kids in my car. Tristan and I will take care of things here and follow in his car. And no, little brother, I’m still driving. We’re not having your appalling driving skills ruin Christmas day.”

Diane put a hand to her mouth to hide her laughter. She sometimes wondered if Siegfried and Tristan enjoyed putting on this farce for the amusement of everyone around them. That is, until she remembered that it was just how the brothers were which was even funnier to her.

Tristan kept his pouting to a minimum and leapt to his feet so he could kiss her goodbye. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

 “I’ll be waiting, dear. And Tris?”

“Mmm?”

Diane cupped his cheek with her hand. “Merry Christmas.”


End file.
